Boston City Council to Vote July 9 on Inspector General Ballot Question

BOSTON — June 30, 2025 — Boston City Council holds hearing on non-binding inspector general ballot question, with a vote set for July 9. The council convened a hearing June 30 on a proposal by Councilor Julia M. Mejia to place a non-binding advisory question on the November ballot asking whether Boston should establish an independent municipal inspector general. No vote was taken at the hearing; Councilor Gabriela Coletta Zapata, who chairs the relevant committee, committed to bringing the measure to a floor vote at the July 9 council meeting — the last date that would allow Mayor Michelle Wu to sign it before an August 6 statutory deadline. The question is paired with a still-in-progress home rule petition that would expand the Finance Commission, the city's existing watchdog agency founded in 1907, rather than create a new office. Councilor Liz Breadon argued the commission already functions as the city's de facto inspector general but receives only about $350,000 annually — far below the inflation-adjusted equivalent of its original $25,000 budget — and pointed to a Finance Commission intervention that helped the city sell a Millennium Tower parking garage for over $220 million rather than a proposed $25 million. If the council declines to act, supporters say residents would need to collect signatures from roughly 40,000 registered voters to place the question on the ballot independently.